


First Impressions

by OpalescentDragon



Series: First Impressions [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, swtor - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Ord Mantell, Trooper Storyline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 19:50:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7282345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalescentDragon/pseuds/OpalescentDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Republic Squad #362, Codename: Havoc. The best of the best. Mell couldn’t believe she was going to be it’s newest member.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is something that everyone writes about if they have a trooper, but I just couldn't resist!

Sergeant Melladonia Leane Xanadu, codename: Sealion, sat in anxious silence as the Republic walker slowly made its way to Fort Garnik. Mell had never been to Ord Mantell before, and truth be told, it wasn’t making a great first impression. Maybe it might have been a nice place if circumstances had been different. Well, almost any situation was better than a Separatist civil war.

The large older man sitting next to her had introduced himself as Gearbox once they had started out. The first Havoc Squad member she had ever met in person. Mell liked him; he was open and genuine, and she hoped that the others were the same. Once, she had caught glimpses of some of the members at a military ball a few years ago, but had never gotten a chance to talk. You don’t just saunter up and introduce yourself to Havoc Squad. They were legend.

“Hey, I like your codename, kid.” Gearbox broke the silence. “How’d you get it?”

“Oh, uh,” Mell did her best to keep her nerves out of her voice as she answered. “I used to direct aquatic search and rescue missions on Alderaan. It’s kinda my specialty, I guess.” She felt a twinge of nostalgia as she thought about her home planet. “I fell asleep on the beach once and a pod of sea lions came ashore to sunbathe. My teammates found me covered in sea lion pups, just snoozing away.” She smiled a bit at the memory, and it helped calm her mood.

“Ha!“ A wide grin broke out across his dark, scarred face. "That’s funny. No wonder they brought you in for Ord Mantell. Frontline’s nothin’ but islands and beaches for miles.”

Mell took in a deep breath. If a situation had to do with water, she knew how to handle it. “I’m ready to do my part.”

“Being chosen for Havoc Squad at such a young age is nothin’ to sneeze at.” He commented, and then went one to explain the details of the current mission.  
Havoc was here to find and then either take or destroy a bomb that the separatists were building. He pointed out that a bomb of the caliber could wipe out the whole island they were trudging through. Mell was no bomb expert, but her training in the academy did cover the basics. She hoped that she wouldn’t just be in the way when the real experts like Fuse and Gearbox handled that kind of hardware.

Fuse. The zabrak demolitions specialist was probably the member that she was the most excited to meet. When she had been given her assignment to Havoc, she was contacted by Commander Tavus to settle some details of her transfer. He had been called away in the middle of the holo meeting, so he handed her over to the only other member near -Fuse. He had seemed a bit shy at first, then again, Mell probably was, too, but he opened up over the course of the conversation. They had so much in common: born on Alderaan, rooted for the same Huttball team, and a similar family dynamic to the point where he also had a sibling accepted by the Jedi. She liked him. A lot. They had kept contact over the weeks that it took for her paperwork to process and the transfer to complete, and she was currently in route to where he was stationed. Needless to say, she was quite nervous.

Without warning, Gearbox was cut short and the whole 100-ton walker shook violently. The driver informed them that they had been hit by a rocket from in the nearby village. Mell hadn’t know these revolutionists were so well equipped. The driver was still shouting when a hit rattled the walker a second time. There was no further sound from the cock pit.

“Driver! DRIVER!” Gearbox barked, but there was no response. “Blast.” He looked to Mell.

“Sealion, they’re expecting you at Fort Garnik. There’s no other option now than to go right through the thick of it. I’ll stay behind and see f I can get this tin can runnin’ again,” he explained.

“Are you sure you’re going to be ok on your own?” Mell didn’t like the idea of leaving a squad mate to fend for himself.

“Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ve been through much worse.” His eyes seemed to look not at her, but at something very far away. The moment only lasted a fraction of a second, and then Gearbox focused back on Mell. “You better get goin.’ Good luck.”  
Mell readied her blaster rifle and nodded once at Gearbox. She turned to face the door and steeled herself as it slowly opened to reveal war-torn Ord Mantell.

\-------

Lieutenant Aric Jorgan took a long sip of his kaffa and put the mug down next to the mission datapad. Havoc Squad on Ord Mantell. He never imagined that the Seps could be so threatening to warrant sending the Republic's finest out here. It would've been an honor meeting them if the situation wasn't so dire. It's still an honor, but pleasantries tend to be put on the back burner when it comes to a full out civil war. The brass had been in an uproar when intel brought news about the ZR-57. Yet, as bad as this situation was, it was still the most excitement he's had since he was promoted. He turned away from the table to look at the group of soldiers waiting in the room. Four member of Havoc Squad. They were waiting on the last two to arrive, one of which happened to be a new recruit. If the others were any indication, this recruit would be quite an unusual person, even for a rookie.

Jorgan started going through the morning routine: obtaining last night's intel, doing a mental roll call, checking in the status of troopers in the clinic, making sure people had their assignments for the day, etc, all the while listening in on the mission brief Commander Tavus was giving his men. The squad was preparing to split up to take on separate jobs, and Jorgan had been given the task of coordinating them from base.

The Havoc rookie was going to be on his own. That worried Jorgan. He knew how promotions could inflate a young soldier's ego. He would have to lay down the rules as soon as the new guy walked in to make sure the trooper knew his place. It didn't bother Jorgan one bit, but what did rake his nerves was a soldier thought he was too good to obey orders. He was mentally preparing the rookie speech when he scented a change in the air. Someone new had entered the building. It was nice to be a Cathar at times.

The conversation Havoc was having broke off abruptly just after Jorgan heard boot steps come through the archway into the command room.

"If we focus our effort on M Sector the - Ah, Sergeant! Welcome, welcome. Come meet the rest of your new squad." Commander Tavus greeted the newcomer.

Jorgan looked up from his datapad. The new member was finally here, if more than a bit later than expected. He turned in the direction of the doorway to get a good look at him.

The first thing the lieutenant noticed was the hair. A tangled mess of bright blue-green shoulder length hair topped the soldiers head. _That can't be in regulation,_ he thought to himself, but then again a lot of leeway was given to special forces members. Too much leeway in his opinion. The second thing he noticed was the very feminine shape the rookie had. Huh, he was a she. Not that that was a very surprising thing. Women were quickly becoming a more common occurrence in the military, and Jorgan wasn't about to complain. They tended to smell _much_ better than their male counterparts.

That thought brought his attention to that scent he had caught a whiff of before she had even walked through the door. It reminded him of summer, striking a nostalgic chord in his mind. It smelled like...flowers? Honeysuckle, that was it. Why in the galaxy was this soldier wearing perfume in the middle of a civil war? Teal hair and perfume. Looks like he really had his work cut out for him.


End file.
